Around 1.5 million Ukrainian children who remain in occupied areas of Ukraine are at high risk of being deported to Russia, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Oct. 2.
Russia has already abducted more than 20,000 children since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lubinets said. Less than 400 of them have been returned home, according to the Children of War database.
Deported children have their personal data changed so that their relatives cannot find and bring them back home, the ombudsman added.
"Our children are even sent to so-called 're-education camps' where they are zombified with Russian propaganda. Just imagine: our children are forced to deny their Ukrainian origin," Lubinets said.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, those from children's homes in Kherson Oblast were first moved to the occupied territories and then deported to Russia. Kyiv also recorded cases of children being illegally adopted by Russian families.
"Russia deliberately slows down the process of returning our children," Lubinets said.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for their roles in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
The unlawful transfer or deportation of civilians to Russia violates the Fourth Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime under international law.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
